Oh, Look! It's a Craft!

While I was in Michigan (yes, again, I know that I'm behind) my mom showed me some cool fruit fabric that she had. My mom is multi-talented. She's got skillz. She can sew, photograph, whatever. She MADE her wedding dress. Can anyone else boast that fact?

Didn't think so.

So anyway, she thought it'd be cool to make potholders. More for me. It was a beginner project. So far I've made a pair of jammy bottoms, curtains for two rooms, and pillows. I can rock a homemade pillow, for sure.

And now potholder. Yes, I made one. I got slightly frustrated at one point and ended up taking a time-out while my mom undid some stitching.

But let's start at the beginning, shall we?

First we gathered the materials. Fruit fabric for one side, the middle stuff (stuffing? batting? I don't know.), and jeans for the back. Plus some stuff that goes along the sides. Trim?

Please notice that I'm not calling this a tutorial. I'm just detailing my adventures. I'm a fly by the seat of my pants, cross my fingers, hope it works type of girl.

Anyway, here's what I/we used:

 Um, and then I was supposed to cut stuff evenly and straight. I suck at this. But for this it was extra important because the trim needs to cover all three layers so the whole thing doesn't come undone.

 Here's the finished product. I thought it best to leave out the shots of me crying and pouting after I made an oops (which my mom turned into an Aha!).

I thought it'd be cool to use the pocket part of the jeans (lots of jeans on hand because my mom makes RUGS. On a LOOM.) so I could slip my hand right in there while I used it.

 Blueberries!

I think it is pretty and I'm getting to the point now where I can use it and not think of how I had some stinky moments while sewing it. I did NOT like the trim.

Anyone else got crafty skills?

DIY Framed Board - Or, Hey, What Else Can I Do With This Gorgeous Frame?

This frame was originally silver and housed a very cool (but not fitting exactly with our decor) bird print.  The print came out. We kept it, just in case we wanted to switch things up.

Anyway, Jeremiah spray-painted the frame white (I might be spray painting challenged. But that is a whole different story.).

I bought some super-cheap fabric at Jo-Anne's, as well as some cork board. We did three layers: Cardboard, cork, and then the fabric. Put everything back together, hung it on the wall, and voila! a super chic place to post stuff. It is hanging directly above the desk, sort of tying together our little work area.

I won't be putting up any ugly shtuff like bills and stuff, but nice things, like this calendar that I picked up in Jerome (that I will repurpose by cutting out the images and framing them.). Other things will surely make their way up to that beautiful frame...slowly, orderly, and one at a time.

p.s. The fabric looks like it might have a pinkish hue, but it is a solid brown. It appears to be lost in translation.

p.p.s. The Fixx. That's what we're listening to at this moment.

What Time Is It?

It's time to rock and roll!!

Just kidding. We aren't that nerdy.

Not all the time, anyway.

I wanted to share a project that Jeremiah did this weekend:

He turned a very cool piece of vinyl (Rolling Stones, yo) into a clock.


We actually ended up using my Cricut (LOVE.IT.) to make numbers out of the album cover. Yes, it is cool. You dig it?


P.S. Jeremiah had so much fun (especially picking out the vinyl) that he's decided to offer up his services. If you know of anyone that is a music buff, vinyl fanatic, or punk (doesn't it look punkish/modish/eighties?) they might enjoy one. Let us know. He's offering his services for way cheaper than you might find elsewhere.

If you aren't into it, then I hope you enjoyed this technicolor post. And the craftiness.

My $37 Chair.

Okay. I bought this chair awhile ago at Target. Remember?

And I said that I would make a slipcover thing for it. Remember??

Well, I finally did.

I bought some heavy fabric at Jo-Anne's. It was on clearance and then fifty percent off of that price. Score. $12. Total.
I didn't measure anything. I just kind of cut the shape, hemmed, did the corners, etc. I did make one mistake and had to fix it, but that is neither here nor there. The top/back of the chair was the easiest thing. I made sure the fabric was facing the same direction as the seat, then sewed it up like a pillow case.
And voila! Chair slipcover. Not too bad, if I do say so myself.

Anyone else working on some sewing or crafting?

P.S. Thanks so much for everyone that is voting for me. The odds are so slim, I know, but it means a lot that people are still taking the time to vote for me.

Fall Art

You might remember that I shared my wall art with you - giant frames with scrapbook pages put inside as art. Check it:
Perfect for summer, but I wanted to represent the fall season. It's one of my favorite seasons and even if the weather is triple digits here, I want to pretend that outside is wonderfully crisp fall weather.

So here is what I did:
They are all scrapbook pages. The one on the left is of fallen leaves. The middle one is a bird sitting on a white birch. The one on the right is bare trees.

Birdsie is my fave. So cute.
So there you have it. A quick change to my wall that makes me feel as though I'm back in MI, even if I'm not.

Sew These are the Pillows...

Okey Dokey. One of my goals is to do at least one crafty/housey thing each week. This last weekend, I mentioned that boyfriend and I were uber crafty (or artsy, in boyfriend's case) and productive.

I made pillows!
This first pillow I actually did a bit more work to after these pictures were taken (I tightened up the edges/sides to make it fit more snugly around the pillow guts). I used a blue fabric with a fun, retro-y print on the front. I grabbed some felt while I was at Jo-Anne's and used that to make an E. Jeremiah asked if I used a stencil or anything. The answer is no, I free-handed it. Tip: I use white-eyeliner to draw on the felt. Comes off with a bit of rubbing.
On the back of the pillow is a brown fabric with polka-dots. I folded the front fabric over so that the guts could easily be removed when it was time for a wash.

This next picture is the second pillow I did. I actually found the pillow case (I got two of them) at Target on clearance for about $2.50. I bought them with the intentions of decorating them a bit. Which I finally did!
I used more felt that I purchased on Saturday, eyelinered myself some flowers, did a super fun stitch, then I grabbed the left over brown felt, made two small circles, and did ANOTHER fun stitch.
So there you have it. My craft project for the week. I love the pillows and I love that it is something I created. I'm pretty darn proud of myself!